


A 100 Ways To Say No

by Lynedius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:31:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6997927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynedius/pseuds/Lynedius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a shipwreck in her heart, and she wasn't sure if she was ready - she wasn't sure if she ever would be. She looked at the hands that had helped her land in the silent harbour and exhaled sharply, if she was going to die she might as well do something about it - It was 1975 and war in the wizarding world had been brewing for the past thirty years. Amidst the violence and fear, the Marauders find themselves from becoming illegal animagi to watching James come up with a hundred ways to get rejected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everything Has A Beginning

The rain pounded against the pavement, drowning out the silence frosted on the thin branches that lined the street. The sky had bled open, leaving behind its teary imprints in expanses of cloudy grey puddles. The streets hummed empty as shadows slowly started to gather by the darkest corners of the houses. A dark hooded figure stepped out of the dark, slowly make their way down the street, the rain blurring the outline of their cloak. The stranger remained gracefully oblivious to the weather, walking briskly over the rivulets that had begun to run across the pavements. They halted abruptly at an incongruent space between the two houses and approached the gap, lifting a foot almost as though to climb a stair that did not exist. The next moment they had disappeared, their cloak blending through the shadows and a footprint the only memory of their presence.

Lowering the hood she allowed herself to be kissed on the cheek quietly. Her dark hair drew the light against the silvery green wallpaper as she dropped her cloak onto the floor, knowing that the ancient house elf had been waiting at her heels.

"It has been long, dearest aunt" her voice vibrated through the timbers as she followed the candlelights. Cabinets decorated the walls around the hallway, its shelves filled with ancient relics and trophies bearing identical crests and inlays. Perched in the centre, a massive tapestry wove out with the same crest at its heart.

_'Toujours Pur'_

"How are Cygrus and Druella?"

Three people sat by the mahogany table, a woman and two boys - not men, for they were not men yet. They shared the same features - the black hair, dark brows and sharp jawlines

"Never been better" the shadows that had crawled behind her had settled on her eyes, her thick eyelashes fluttering down as she picked up a cup of tea, joining them.

"I heard that you were personally recruited into the Dark Lord's innermost council", the woman drawled slowly, "it is well deserving, my dear. You have made the family proud"

Bellatrix didn't respond immediately as she swished the warm liquid around her mouth, enjoying the bitter aftertaste it left on her lips. Her eyes travelled over Walburga Black, settling on her cousins - both of whom seemed to had inherited the Black family's brooding eyes.

"The Dark Lord is the greatest of them all" she spoke softly, tilting her head as she closely observed the eldest of the boys. She wondered if he remained as weak and sympathetic to traitors as she had last remembered him to be.

"The Dark Lord is getting stronger each day. He gains devout supporters who believe in his just cause to purify the world from undeserving criminals. He has started-"

"What wrong have they caused you?" the whisper seemed to slap her in the face

"The wrongness lies in their nature" her eyes flashed as she found the cold stare that fixed her across the table

"Is it not worse to be cruel and grovel at a feet of a pretender?"

She could feel the blood pounding in her ear and her hand twitched towards her wand. She caught him smile dryly at her and stopped herself

"You have always been as delightful as I remember you, dearest cousin" she spat

"You have done nothing but bring disappointment to this House"

Sirius switched his gaze towards his mother, his face sinking into the stony exterior engraved in his memory from his time at this house.

"The Dark Lord has started to look for individuals gifted enough to join his noble cause and has given me the reigns of liberty to include our family. It is the greatest honour to be bestowed a position in his innermost circle" Bellatrix continued, her voice lilted, speaking to Walburga although her eyes remained affixed on Sirius

"You will not say no, do you understand?"

He closed his eyes, refusing to let her see the storm behind them.

He opened his eyes to the red and gold sprawled across the ceiling and momentarily didn't recognise where he lay, as his eyes searched for familiarity. The silver and green had somehow become his default familiarity, he thought bitterly, feeling the hard mattress press against the back of his spine. He imagined the bone scrapping across the scratched mattress, and yet refused to move as he had for the past few hours. He could still smell her musk and felt the bile rise up in his throat. He felt a tightness in his chest and exhaled sharply, frozen helplessly as he replayed the memories trapped within the grey confines of his childhood home. The room had been draped with anything and everything he could find to remind himself that he didn't belong and it resembled a firework which had been preserved mid-explosion - behind the banners and posters, Grimmuald Place had ceased to exist. And yet he remained bound, a mere breathe away from his face on the ancient and horribly familiar silver branches of the tapestry downstairs.

The badge that had fallen out of the letter lay forgotten on his table, the worries of yesterday laughable today. He forced himself up and snatched up the badge, the grooves of his name a familiarity in his hands now.

_'Mr. Black, we are please to announce that you have been chosen as the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.'_

His eyes scanned the familiar words for a thousandth time. It had to be a hoax - the prospects of him in a position of responsibility was absurd. Kingsley had seemed the most probable choice for captaincy, once Fabian and Gideon had left school. He knew he flew well on the team, and yet even he could agree that a good player did not necessarily imply a good captain. Hell, James probably deserved it more than he did. James and he were practically brothers and Quidditch held a special place in their bond, both of them making the team when they were in their second year. And although James pretended not to work for it, Sirius had watched him fly across the pitch every evening when the lights in the castle winked out. He had watched silently each night from the stands as James threw the quaffle repeatedly, working to improve his accuracy and speed. One night after watching him struggle to score and fly fast enough to catch the quaffle before it plummeted to the ground, he had joined him at the changing rooms and handed him a warm flask of pumpkin juice that he had picked up from the kitchens. He had stood with his arm outstretched as anger and uncertainty fought in his mate's hazel eyes, the tiredness and gratefulness winning in the end. He was aware that James would be upset if he knew that Sirius had gotten the badge, although he would never admit to it. The argument was well versed and familiar, however today he couldn't help but feel his heart drop as he looked at the words again.

_'Gryffindor Quidditch Captain'_

Five years ago when he was sorted into a house so starkly different from the rest of his family, he never doubted whether he belonged. But now he wondered, was he Gryffindor enough to be captain? The heart of a lion - something he didn't think he had increasingly or never had possessed in the first place as he returned at the end of each term to a house crawling with the stench of the dark arts, as he silently sat through conversations flippantly condemning hundreds of lives. He rubbed his eyes wearily as he opened one of the drawers, taking out numerous clippings, articles and pamphlets staring back at masked faces he recognised around at dinner.

_'The Dark Mark was seen yesterday at Lighton Street. Aurors say that…'_  
_'The Minister of Magic has officially declared a state of emergence…'_  
_'Aurors injured as a massacre...'  
_ _'Followers of the dark wizard, calling themselves Death Eaters have attempted to….'_

It was 1975.

The world had seemed to come alive, swarming with its new fascinations and mysteries – the world that lived in ignorance of the magic that thrived parallel to it was abuzz with the latest mood rings while Jive Talkin' by the BeeGees blared out of the speakers at the diners. Gasping at the on-screen canine attacker, the year seemed to further embrace rapid progress as the word 'magic' was casually thrown around with the invention of the laser printer. Oddly their lives remained extraordinarily normal and unaware of another world beside theirs, where magic and sorcery were more than an exclamation of disbelief. They remained blissfully ignorant, and both parallels seems rather content with this arrangement. The onset of the new Quidditch season brought the new anthem of Puddlemere United blaring through the pubs as voices at the stadium stood to drown out Celestina Warbeck's own magnified voice. The young and old alike pressed and shuffled against each other at Quality Quidditch Supplies to catch a glimpse of the newest Nimbus Broom. Magical folk converged in pubs and bars, their tankards overflowing as they celebrated the oncoming of another year.

It was 1975.

It had been nearly thirty five years since the war had first begun. Initially blossomed as the over-ambitious design of a maniac – a talented young man turned insane, the wizarding community had been prompt to disregard the notions of a revolution within the magical society, a revolution against those with less credible ancestries. However, no one had quite anticipated the magnitude of support and momentum the idea gained over the years – its ideology spreading amongst the influential almost akin to a parasite. Initial anxiety surrounding the International Statute of Secrecy exploded amongst the prominent families, and the ideology was further grounded by the release of the Pure-Blood Directory. Supporters of the dark wizard converged by the numbers while murders grew common placed. During the span of the last ten years, circumstances seemed to deteriorate rapidly; the darkness of despair of the war seemed to loom closer – a war that threatened to tear families, friends and lovers apart; a war that seemed to have no end nearing. It had been another long year, filled with betrayal, horror and the beginning of what was to come.

The wizarding world was at war; it had been at war ever since Sirius Black had been a little boy, raised almost at the heart of the darkness. However, he was now determined to fight back because that was not someone he wanted to become. Tomorrow he would be back on his way to Hogwarts, and the last time he would set foot in this house.

* * *

 "Someone kill me already" muttered James Potter as he hauled his trunk up the Hogwarts Express, his black hair already sticking up.

"I would love to, but I need help with my transfiguration essay" said a voice from behind. James jumped and turned around to face a boy with bright, clear blue eyes that were partially covered by his light brown hair.

"Remus!"

Remus grinned, his smile warming his eyes framed by heavy dark circles. His face looked gaunt and he had a new scar across his cheek.

"A prefect! I always knew you could do it, Remus. I believed in you and here you are" James choked and pretended to wipe his eyes as Remus pushed him away in mock offence.

"If you don't stop fawning over each other, we'll never find a proper compartment all to ourselves" joined a new voice behind them

"Sirius! You're still alive!" James noticed the dull eyes and the slight grimace as he hugged his best mate. He felt slightly guilty as he did each year watching Sirius walk back into a place that had and would traumatise him. The vacant expression had progressively gotten worse with each September, nevertheless something about this year was unnerving. He had seen Sirius look defeated before but this year he looked more… _broken_.

"You know my family, an absolute delight" Sirius laughed hollowly before pointing towards Remus's badge and shrieking, leaving neither James nor Remus any room to begin a conversation.

"I'm so proud of you, Remus! I only hope you remember the common people like me and James when you sit on your throne of glory" he gushed squeezing Remus into a tight embrace

"Ow 'geoff me Sirius, you wanker"

"I'd hate to see the new Gryffindor prefect smothered even before term begins" Lily said bracingly, her cheeks flushed as though she had been running, her braid threatening to unravel itself. James felt his heart almost stop, followed immediately by a flash of anger at himself - a rhythm he had grown familiar with.

Lily Evans, where could one start to begin explaining her? Fiery. If James was forced to choose one word, he would choose 'fiery' and it wouldn't be just for her flaming red hair or her temper. He could almost smell her scent of pressed peony and citrus as her hair had whipped across his face when he had first noticed her in fourth year. He had recognised her as the same girl who had turned up her nose at him and Sirius on their first day and the girl who had the entire common room whispering about, having a Slytherin for a best mate. She had started to apologise for bumping into him at the doorway of the classroom but her green eyes seemed to recognise his familiar smirk and she had turned away abruptly. They had continued to flash in annoyance as he took to asking her out, his confidence turning into frustration and further relentlessness. She had managed to evade every one of his requests or attempts at conversations, taking pleasure in hexing him every time he asked her out. Honestly, James was tired of it. The constant fights, the immature hexing and the endless disapproval. He didn't need her telling him that he was worthless and he definitely didn't need her setting the rules of his life. And yet, here he was wondering how his hair looked today.

"Hey there Evans" grinned James - a greeting Lily wholly ignored.

"Oh hi Peter!" she brightly waved before dragging Remus away by the arm

"Hey there Evans?" chortled Sirius, watching James scowl at him.

"Merlin, this trunk is so sodding heavy" grunted Peter as he joined Sirius and James.

"Peter", said Sirius solemnly, "let me teach you something called magic"

"Locomotor Trunk"

Peter's trunk alleviated in front of Sirius and together they entered an empty compartment.

“Did you see the new scar on his cheek?” asked Peter as Sirius threw himself across the seat. They didn’t have to ask who Peter meant.

“We’ve been trying for two years now, about time the spells actually work this year.”

“He would probably go on a murdering rampage if he found out” warned Peter

“I just don’t understand why he won’t let us help him” exclaimed Sirius in frustration, sitting up, “is it his pride? We’ve known him since first year so why is it so hard to trust us?”

“Isn’t that ironic”

Sirius turned to look at James who was still stowing away his trunk

“What do you mean?”

“Why is it so hard to trust us?” James repeated as he turned around, “why don’t you answer that yourself? I’ve watched you come back each summer worse than the last and this year it’s…it’s like…you’ve almost _given up_. What happened this summer?”

“Nothing”

“Are you being bloody serious?”

“Look, James you’re my best mate but this..this…” James waited while he watched Sirius struggle, “this isn’t your problem, you don’t need to know about it”

“What poppycock. Do you even hear yourself?”

“Yes and I’m saying I don’t need your help”

“I think someone is about to walk in” Peter interjected quickly as James opened his mouth.

They looked up as the door to their compartment slid open. Marlene Adams stood by the door, looking frustrated. She had spent the last twenty minutes searching for Lily before she realised that Lily was most likely in the Head’s compartment. She looked around at the three boys in front of her. It almost looked like they had been quarrelling, Marlene noticed as she mentally cursed herself for picking the only compartment that seemed to have any seats left on the train. She prayed Lily would be too tired from the prefect’s meeting to notice her choice of company.

“Is there a seat?” she heard herself asking

“Hi Marlene, and yes” Peter grinned up at her as the other two grunted in acknowledgement, both refusing to meet each other’s eye. Marlene had never seen them argue, hell, she didn’t know if Sirius and James could even disagree on anything but said nothing as she sat across them, kicking Sirius’s legs out of the way.

“Been practicing?” James asked her, ignoring Sirius’s glower at him

“I’ve tried out a number of strategies”, she said hesitantly, curious but apprehensive about what had just occurred, “there’s this particular one that I wanted to discuss with you” she sat up straighter and grabbed a chocolate frog

“It better be good” Sirius joined in conversationally. Quidditch was one thing they would always be eager to discuss

“I’ve been watching the playbacks of Kestrels all summer long. Isn’t Darren O’Hare simply gorgeous?” she said dreamily and James blinked at her. Marlene grinned guiltily and hurriedly started to talk again as he opened his mouth to interject.

“Anyway” she said before James could interrupt her with another one of his lectures. Marlene had a feeling that it would involve how the lack of concentration was a seeker's bane, “I saw how he used the Hawkshead Attacking Formation to spread out the chasers and that reminded me of what the Russian player did last year during the World Cup. I don't remember the name of the strategy she used, but her name was Petrova Porskoff”

“It's called the Porskoff Ploy' piped up Peter abruptly in his reedy voice, Marlene and James stared at him 

“You're welcome” he mumbled as he returned to the Daily Prophet

Marlene turned to see James looking at her and felt herself heat up.

“What?” she muttered, rather awkwardly

“That’s pretty smart, Adams”

“Er, thanks?”

However, James Potter wasn’t listening any longer as he traced lines on his thigh, muttering to himself. 

“Hawskhead attack. Spread the chasers out. But the arrow formation is too common. It will have to keep them surprised. Maybe-” 

He looked around the compartment. Peter was laughing at something in the Daily prophet while Sirius had reverted back to gazing out of the wind moodily as Marlene watched him with keen eyes. 

“Who do you think got the badge for Captain this year?” he asked her 

“I don't really know, but I bet it's Kingsley. He'd keep us on the winning streak”

Marlene flew as seeker on the team while James, Sirius and MG remained as chasers, Fabian and Kingsley had been beaters and Gideon had been keeper. She was a late addition to the team, a find of Fabian’s as he saw her fly in attempt to recuse someone’s stranded cat. However, Fabian and Gideon had left school this year, leaving one of the beaters and the keeper position open. She started to scan through the names of every Gryffindor she knew, wondering who would fill the position at tryouts. She remained lost in her thoughts, reliving the euphoric feeling as she caught the snitch for the first time. She looked around to catch Sirius’s eyes on her and grinned sheepishly. 

“Have you heard from Kingsley yet?” she asked him

“No I haven’t” he snapped abruptly and turned away to moodily look out of the window.

Marlene shrugged. She had started to recognise Sirius’s black moods although they still bothered her. 

Sirius closed his eyes. He hadn’t meant to snap at Marlene but he was lost on how to start grappling with everything he was going through. If everyone considered Kingsley as the most likely candidate for captaincy, as he would wholeheartedly agree, he wasn’t about to try and correct them, precisely because he had made up his mind in the last hour to resign and force McGonagall to make Kingsley Captain. He was yet to fathom how the sensible and prim head of house could have sent the badge to him. 

In another section of the Hogwarts Express, Lily Evans sat along with her fellow prefects in the Heads’ compartment. She crossed her legs and peeked a glance at the other Gryffindor prefect - Remus Lupin. She sighed in annoyance at the look of perfect concentration that was etched on his face. She turned her gaze towards this year’s head girl, Larine Macmillan. 

“We must take pride in our position and serve as role models to the rest of the student body”

Lily grimaced. She wondered if Larine herself believed in the words she was saying, because Lily would hardly encourage anyone to look up to herself as a ‘role model’, especially after the new fallout with her sister over the holidays. She sighed and looked over the other prefects. Few were dozing away, few rapt with attention while the rest looked as bored as she felt. She caught Tyler McKinnon’s eye and mouthed ‘save me’. Tyler chuckled as he rolled his eyes at her.

“Lily, will you do it?”

Larine’s voice resounded in the compartment and Lily blinked at her 

“I asked if you would like to take charge of the event.” Larine repeated, clearly irritated with her lack of concentration. Lily could see Tyler smirking from the corner of her eye.

“Sure. Definitely, I will” Lily replied, having no clue what she had just agreed to assist with

'That's settled then. Amrita, will you volunteer to schedule the Hogsmede trips this year?'

“So, what did I get myself into?” Lily asked Remus as they both watched Larine pounce on her next victim

“Celebrations” he muttered

“You know, decorating and organizing for the year's festivities. Starting with Halloween, Christmas, the Ending feast and anything in between” he clarified at her raised eyebrows

“Anything in between?”

“You could ask Larine” smiled Remus slyly

Lily stared at him and stuck her tongue out, effectively communicating her disapproval at his lack of help. She noticed everyone getting up and hurried to her feet, stretching her sore limbs. She checked the patrols schedules and lightened up when she saw most of the shifts shared with Alice Brighton, the Ravenclaw prefect. She followed Remus out of the compartment, wondering where Marlene had decided to stow herself away as she reached the end of the aisle and peeked into the compartment, seeing Marlene’s familiar thick brown hair straining against her hair tie.

“I’m exhausted” she announced, sliding the door open and feeling her stomach drop as she saw the faces welcoming her

“Hi again Lily” Remus held back a laugh as he made space for her, across from…James Potter. Lily groaned inwardly and settled herself on the seat. She and Marlene were definitely going to have a talk when they reached Hogwarts.

“Don’t say anything” she glowered at Potter, “I don’t want to hear it”. She was sick of anything to do with Potter, his presence almost seemed to make her exhausted as she instinctively put up barriers and her scathing tongue sharpened. She grabbed a chocolate frog and stuffed her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything, because heaven forbid that they start an argument when she was tired and still reeling from Petunia’s contempt. She looked around for a distraction and spied a Daily Prophet wedged between Marlene and Remus. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” Potter spoke as he noticed her hand make its way towards the paper

“Why not?” she scowled at him and snatched the paper up.

The Dark Mark stared back at her and she froze momentarily. She knew it was just a picture but it didn’t stop the sudden pounding in her heart and the irrational fear that had started to trickle through her. How many sleepless nights had she spent, dreading the same? Dreading to go back home only to find the mark over her house and her family dead, all simply because she had introduced the magical world to her old world? 

“Here” Potter threw her a copy of Witch Weekly as he took the paper from her shaking hands, pretending not to notice. She took the copy wordlessly and buried her face behind the cover. She didn’t want to start thinking about the first civilised interaction she had with Potter. Everything could wait - they weren’t even at Hogwarts yet. As if on cue, she heard the train whistle. 

“I think we're nearing the castle now” Remus yawned and nudged a sleeping Sirius with his foot 

“We better go change” Marlene spoke up

“You can change here if you want” James smirked and Lily fought the urge to slap his face hard, the previous moment forgotten entirely in wake of his comment

“I swear, tolerating him doesn't get easier” she muttered as she walked out of the compartment.

* * *

 "I'm sorry, theirs had happened to be the only free compartment" Marlene whispered as they watched the sorting. Lily sighed, she hadn't meant to give Marlene the silent treatment.

"I just - I'm so tired of Potter treating me like some possession he needs to have. Every single day, he has this ridiculous petulant urge to get a yes. I just," she sighed again, "I really don't like him. I've seen the way he treats everyone he assumes is beneath him and the need to assert power is just childish and immature. He exhausts me, I wish I could push him into a box chained at the bottom of the Great Lake"

"Not sure Moaning Myrtle would disapprove"

Lily cracked a smile

"I'm sorry Mar, I just have a lot on my mind. Things weren't great with Tuney when I left and everything seems to be happening too fast"

Marlene nodded and squeezed her hand, spooning more of the mashed potatoes onto Lily's plate.

"You'll need that with all the shouting at the first years"

Dumbledore dismissed them and Lily stood up, yelling at the first years to follow her. Sirius watched as James stared at Lily, and he looked away, he couldn't worry about James and his feelings right now. This was probably the only opportunity he would get to meet with McGonagall before the entire school knew he was captain. He wandered through the castle's secret passages, waiting for everyone to go inside their dormitories. He located McGonagall in her office eventually and entered, surprising her.

"What are you doing, Black? Curfew starts in thirty minutes. I would have thought it was beneath you to get detention on the first day of school"

"I know curfew starts in thirty minutes", he replied curtly, "and this will only take a minute. I came regarding the Captaincy" he held out the badge to her

"Aaah. I was expecting you" McGonagall seemed to smile slightly at him, but it vanished almost immediately and Sirius wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not.

"Well then you know what to do" he said and left the badge on her desk

"Trust me, you weren't my first choice Mr. Black" she said and gestured him to sit down

Sirius took a seat hesitantly.

"I was convinced by your predecessors, the Prewetts" she continued

"Who?" echoed Sirius, confused

"Fabian and Gideon Prewett successfully convinced me that you were appropriate for the post"

"Are they crazy?" exclaimed Sirius, running a hand through his hair

"I was of the same opinion initially" she agreed

"But why me? Professor you know me. I – I can't – I can't do this. Kingsley is appropriate for this! He was born a Captain. Must have been ordering his nurses or mother or whoever around with his diapers, giving them the right tactic to change his milk formula. This is absurd. Bloody mental"

"Mr. Black" said McGonagall sternly, "Fabian had initially consulted Mr. Shacklebolt, but he refused the offer" she continued, "you were the next option"

"How come Kingsley gets a say and I don't?" Sirius yelled, his irritation swiftly mounting. He didn't want this stupid batch and the fucking title.

"Why not James? Or MG?" he got up from the chair and paced about the office. He paused and looked at the Gryffindor Head who had her eyebrows raised, "I want to resign"

"No, Mr. Black"

"You can't refuse me the right to resign!" he shouted

"You will not resign, Mr. Black and I shall under no circumstance receive your resignation"

"Well that's just – just – just bloody brilliant" he swore

McGonagall remained impassive and cleared her throat

"I would expect to see the Cup in my office this year too. Make sure you book the pitch as early as possible, before the other Houses pull it together and commence their training"

Sirius glared at her, opening his mouth furiously. But McGonagall cut him before he could speak

"Good evening Mr. Black, and good luck"

He pushed past the Fat Lady and sat down heavily on one of the armchairs by the fire. They must have planned this as a joke, thought Sirius, a way to make his year miserable. What was Fabian even thinking? They all knew how important Quidditch was to each of them. It wasn't just a sport. They didn't play it just for the victory. No, Quidditch meant so much more than that. To Sirius, it represented freedom. Being up in the air, he felt unrestrained. It was almost as though he could break free of the bonds his birth and blood imposed on him, as he soared in the air. He was himself, not defined by his name or status as a pureblood. He was simply Sirius, Gryffindor chaser.

A sudden pecking at the window interrupted his thoughts. He opened the window and an unfamiliar owl flew in, sticking its feet out to letter attached to it was addressed to him. Surprised, he removed the letter from the owl and it took flight.

He sat back on the armchair and spread out his legs. The common room was empty. Everyone had gone to bed early, tired from the train journey.

He looked at the letter from the unknown owl and opened it. He scanned it and recognized Fabian's writing. The letter was short.

_'Hey Sirius,_

_I know that you're probably mad at me and my idiotic brother, who's breathing down my neck while I'm writing to you. We guessed you would have gone to MGGonagall asking her to take back the badge, and she would have let slip that we recommended you for the Captain position._

_Wait, before anything else. Congrats! Quidditch captain, whoa. Someone's growing up, our ickle baby Sirius._

_I'm writing this to tell you to relax. It wasn't one of our evil jokes, to have you as Quidditch Captain. I actually believe you're captain material, even if it sounds crazy. James would have been equally likely, but we decided to go with you. So don't be a pansy and start having all these life defining dilemmas. Go and schedule practices, because we'll make sure we'll kill you if you don't win the Cup this year._

_Gryffindor For The Cup!_

_Fabian  
_ _And Gideon.'_

Sirius smiled while he re-read the letter. Feeling like something had finally gone right, or horribly wrong, he folded the letter and climbed the stairs to where his real family waited.


	2. The Wager

It was a new day, the first day of the rest of their year at the castle. Classes would resume soon and the Heads of the four Houses were busy drawing up timetables. The sky was clear – a wide expanse of intense azure. Most of the students were already down in the Great Hall, swallowing pieces of toast and pumpkin juice. However, a few remained in their dormitories trying to magically dress themselves as a compensation for oversleeping.

Music blared out of one of the fifth year's girl's dormitories. The voices of Hallowed Snitch echoed all the way down to the Gryffindor common room where the new first year students looked alarmed.

'Turn that down!' yelled a passing sixth year

Lily pointed her wand at the radio and magically reduced the volume. Marlene paused in her shower and poked her head out.

'What did you do that for?' she asked, her hair filled with shampoo suds

'Have you ever heard of something called morning calm, Marlene?' Lily asked her, and Marlene shook her head obstinately

'Noise pollution, preservation of the sanity of your roommates, listening to older sixth years?' Marlene shook her head at each of them and instead pointed her wand at the radio. The volume of the WWN increased and Marlene jumped back into the shower, singing.

Lily shook her head dejectedly and continued to knot her yellow and red tie.

'Have you seen my Arithmancy book?' yelled Safiya over Marlene's soprano

Lily shook her head and considered her unruly mane in front of a mirror. It had grown during the summer and it now fell a little over her shoulders. It seemed ever more red than usual, with natural bright orange highlights. She sighed and picked up the brush. She ran it through her hair, unknotting the tangles.

'Found it!' exclaimed Safiya from underneath Marlene's bed, as the latter emerged from the shower. She decreased the volume of the WWN and Lily swore she could hear the sighs of relief all the way from the Great Hall. Lily continued to brush her hair, tying it into one. She considered her reflection and frowned slightly. The smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose seemed more incongruous and she resisted the urge to cover them up magically.

"We're going to be late for Charms" Safiya announced as she buttoned her crisp white shirt. Lily looked over at her sitting on Marlene's bed. Safiya was the tallest amongst them, with incredibly long legs. Her athletic physique would have either made her the greatest Quidditch player or a supermodel not unlike Twiggy back in the muggle world - except she was prettier than Twiggy, Lily decided. She would also never have to deal with freckles and pale eyes because of her gorgeous darker skin, Lily sighed.

"Come on Mar, we're late" Lily grabbed her bag

"Coming" came Marlene's muffled voice as she struggled with her robes.

The three of them walked down together towards their first class and watched as MG ran past them, in pursuit of someone or something.

"What's wrong with him?" Lily muttered as she adjusted the straps of her bag.

"Hey Sirius!" A boy with a black mop of hair ran beside the legendary prankster

"Hi MG" Sirius said as he considered the Chaser trying to catch his breath.

"Do you know who the new Quidditch Captain is?" Sirius looked at him quizzically.

"I wanted know when the first practice session would be, don't want it to clash with the meetings of the Gobstone's Club" he answered

"Oh" Sirius felt stupid and relieved that MG hadn't assumed that Kingsley had been chosen as Captain. Like James and Marlene, he thought bitterly. Before he could answer, he saw James walking towards him holding something in this hand.

"What's this Sirius?" he asked as he reached them, holding out his hand. Sirius looked down and saw his badge sitting on James's palm. Panic surged through him as he considered James, MG and the badge.

"I can explain, James" he said desperately.

James looked at Sirius, his expression impassive. Sirius looked at him with wild eyes, feeling sick with himself. What did it matter that Gideon and Fabian had supported him? What mattered was how James would have taken this captaincy, something he probably should have realised earlier when arguing with McGonagall last night. His mouth was dry and he stuttered

"I tried mate, I really did. I asked McGonagall to take back the badge but she –"

James interrupted him

'What did you do that for, you git?'

Sirius stared at him. The corners of James's mouth turned up and he laughed

"Holy shit, Sirius. I can't believe you're Captain." He tossed the badge to him and Sirius caught it.

"That's great, wow" said MG as he looked at Sirius, "you could tell me when the first practice is then!" he said excitedly. Sirius looked at him and James, dazed.

"Give him a little time, MG" laughed James, "he needs to get this responsibility thing running in his system"

Sirius grinned at him, relieved that James had accepted him as Captain. He knew that he valued James's opinion and this friendship meant more than he would care to admit, and yet he was surprised by how reassured he was by the approval from James.

"Wednesday, at 5 in the evening. After all the classes are done" he replied and MG grinned back at him. He whacked Sirius on the back of his head and walked away.

"Sirius Black, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." said James and took the badge from Sirius's hand, examining it, "you do realise that two of us have just been given positions of responsibility?"

Sirius snorted, "I won't bail you out on detention mate. You know me."

'That, I do" James answered

"I thought we could start in Flinch's office" Sirius said casually. James started to laugh and handed Sirius back the badge as they walked into Charms, choosing their favourite backseats.

"You will be taking your O. this year and you will need all the preparation you can receive. Today we will start by reviewing summoning spells"

Lily crammed her fourth cupcake into her mouth as Professor Flitwick turned to answer Amelia Bone's question.

"Stop eating!" hissed Safiya at her. Lily rolled her eyes at her and chewed away, savouring the soft dough and chocolate filling. She closed her eyes. This was what Heaven feels like, she decided.

"I'm hungry, we didn't have breakfast" she whispered back

James sat diagonally behind her. He watched Lily as she removed the cupcakes from her bag with her wand, and hurriedly stuffed them into her mouth every time Flitwick shifted his gaze. He chuckled softly as he saw her close her eyes in delight. There was a little chocolate smeared at the corner of her lips. Her hair was tied into one today and it went with her Gryffindor tie. She had pinned her prefect badge on her clean blouse that fit her perfectly. He could feel Remus's eyes on him and looked away, trying to appear nonchalant. He should really stop staring at Evans and letting himself get caught. He sneaked a look at her again and saw her laughing at something Safiya had said. He looked away again, with a slow sinking feeling. She was beautiful when she laughed. Her green eyes crinkled upwards and shone with amusement. It was ironic that the thing he loved most about Evans was her laughter and she never laughed when in his presence. All she did when they were together was hex him, yell at him or criticise him. Maybe she did really hate him. James sighed and turned his attention to what Flitwick was saying. He gave up trying to concentrate and looked down at his parchment where he had drawn meaningless loops. James sat up abruptly and slapped himself mentally. He scowled at the back of Lily's head. If he was being honest, Lily was the one who had given him no reason to really like her, so why did he spend a considerable part of his time concerned about how she would feel? Merlin's pants, she didn't even want to believe he could change, in her eyes Snape would always be better than him. As if sensing his thoughts, Lily looked back and met his eye. She scowled at him and turned back front.

_"Accio"_  he whispered as he pointed at the cupcake he could barely make out from her bag. He heard Remus snort as the cupcake zoomed towards him.

Lily felt something hit her head and turned back, willing to wager her life that it was from Potter. She looked down to see a ball of paper near her feet and picked it up.

_'Missing something?'_  her fingers were lightly dusted with grease and breadcrumbs as she realised the message was scrawled on her cupcake wrapper.

The bell sounded, singling the end of the class.

"Next time you're hungry Potter you could just ask. I could request the house-elves to send up more butter, you could use the left overs to flatten that hair"

There were a few chortles in class as James felt his hand instinctively reach for his hair.

"What was that?" asked Remus as James gathered his books, watching Lily walk out of the classroom

"What was what?" he asked back, innocently

"You have chocolate here" he indicated to the corner of his mouth, trying to stifle a laughter

"You could have shared" Peter joined in mournfully

"You still haven't answered. I thought you had decided to  _'grow-up'_  and  _'show Evans the man you could be'_? Your words not mine" Remus added catching the look on his face

"That was summer. This is now"

Remus stared at him. James sighed.

"Look, she's convinced herself that I will never be able to change or even put up an act of being mature. If I'm eventually never going to have a chance with her, what's the harm of acting exactly how she accuses me of being?"

"Someone's finally realised that the sun sets in the west" remarked Sirius dryly from behind them, walking with Peter

Remus scrunched his nose

"The harm being that maybe you are none of those things and you would be forced to act like someone else"

"James could probably come up with fifty different ways of getting Lily to reject him, by simply being himself" Sirius laughed

"I'd feel safer saying seventy" added Peter

"Fifty-three"

"Remus don't do that. Pick a proper number"

"Fifty-three is a proper number"

"No, a multiple of ten. Fifty-three offends my sense of organisation"

"Sirius have you seen your side of the dorm? You do not have a sense of organisation"

Sirius yanked the back of Remus's robes

"Hey! Fine, fifty-five"

"More like a hundred" muttered James

"I have a brilliant idea", said Sirius, "no, hear me out" he added hastily seeing the eye rolls, "we could wager on how many times James could get rejected by Lily. Of course, we would have to set up boundaries and rules on what constitutes him actually asking her out but currently the numbers stand at myself fifty, Remus fifty-five, Peter seventy and James at a hundred. Winner gets fifty gallons and if none of us win we each donate fifty to Mungo's"

"I hate to say this, but this is the first time I'm agreeing with any plan Sirius has had" Remus remarked after a pause

"My plans are brilliant"

"Yes, like the time you exploded cake in Mary McDonald's dormitory" James pointed out

"I'm in" Peter announced

"Come on, James. You said it yourself - there's no harm"

"Fine" he relented as they reached the classroom for Transfiguration, ignoring Sirius's whoop of glee. He saw the back of a bright redhead and almost reached across to talk to her when he realised who she was with.

"Hey Sev" Lily greeted her best fried as she slid next to him for Transfiguration. Severus looked at her and smiled.

"You've got chocolate on your mouth" he tried to say it nonchalantly and raised his hand hesitantly, to wipe it. However Lily didn't notice and quickly wiped it away, grinning like a seven year old caught doing something mischievous.

"I haven't seen you since dinner at my place" she continued, pouting slightly.

"I'm sorry, I was busy" he replies, smiling at her. Merlin, she was beautiful. Her eyelashes were long and thick. They framed her almond shaped sparkling green eyes. Her lips curved into a smile, then a laugh, as she talked to him. Sitting next to her in class made him feel like he was eleven. He brightened at the memory of them sitting on the grass in the park together, talking about absolutely everything.

"I'm sorry, am I talking too much?" Severus looked at Lily and shook his head. He could feel a big goofy grin plastered at his face. She sighed in relief.

"I can't believe they're making us do so much from the first day" she muttered darkly and he chuckled in response

"Is that a plea of help, Miss Evans?" he asked jokingly

Before she could answer though, someone interrupted her. Someone who symbolised everything Severus loathed and hated with a burning passion.

"Invested in a good shampoo this term, Snivellus?" James sneered at him as the Marauders enter the classroom

"Shut up Potter" he growled in return, his hand twitching towards his robes

"Leave us alone Potter" Lily placed her soft, warm hand on Sev's and gazed at James. James looked started for a moment as he stared at Lily's hand place on Snape's with growing disbelief. For an insane moment Lily thought he might grab her hand away, but he simply shrugged and made his way to the back of the classroom.

"I'd watch out if I were you, Snivellus" he sing-songed over his shoulder

"Ignore him" she said, watching him so annoyance written across her face.

Snape looked down at her hand that still remained on his and smiled slightly. He would gladly ignore Potter.

"I want to change my number to eighty" Remus whispered as they watched the exchange between Lily, James and Snape.

"No changes now" Peter retorted, grinning cheekily, "you get to claim your fifty-five"

* * *

"Team meeting at five today" said James as he sat next to Marlene in the Great Hall. He picked a handful of chips and munched on them. He had skipped breakfast this morning and without a kitchen run, he was ravenous.

"Who told you that?" asked Marlene, finishing her pumpkin juice. She looked into the goblet expectantly, waiting for it to re-fill. However, the goblet's empty insides stared back at her, reflecting her image distorted so that she had a cantaloupe for a nose.

'The captain of course' he said and picked up his own goblet out of her reach. He took a sip and piled casserole onto his plate

"Did you speak to Kingsley then?"

James shrugged at her and continued eating.

"What was that shrug?"

James just shook his head enigmatically. Marlene kicked his leg in response

"Tell me" she asked and grabbed his pumpkin juice. James whined in protest, his mouth full with chicken and vegetables.

"What are you bickering about?" Sirius asked, looking at them suspiciously as he joined them. Remus sat across them and took a sip from James's goblet

''Ey!' he protested, spraying Marlene with chewed food

'Em 'orry, 'arlene' he said and continued to shovel in food, snatching his goblet from Remus's hand

"Potter is refusing to tell me who the new Gryffindor Captain is" Marlene told Remus sulkily. Remus grinned at her and looked up at Sirius who was still standing behind James and Marlene.

"Don't you have a team meeting today though?" he asked her cheerily, picking up some chips from James's plate. James tried to fend his fingers away with his fork, but was defeated.

"How do you know?" Marlene asked suspiciously

"How can I not know?" he asked exasperatedly, "living with two Quidditch mad Gryffindors?"

Marlene laughed and looked at Sirius, now sitting beside James. He grinned at her in response.

"He won't tell me if it's Kingsley. But," she added, glaring at James, "I'm pretty sure I'm right. There's ideally no one else who could be captain on the team"

Remus raised his eyebrows at Marlene.

"What?" she said defensively

"Are you sure?" it was Sirius this time who asked her. His grey eyes scanned her face as she paused and opened her mouth.

"Yes, I swear by Merlin's purple pants"

Remus cleared his throat

"Merlin wore pink dress robes" he pointed out with flourish

"No he didn't" said Marlene, her eyes narrowing in suspicion

"Yes he did, at least that's what it says in  _The Impressive Journey Of Magic And It's Greatest Pioneers_ "

"This is why you're failing Ancient Runes" snorted Sirius, "I can't believe you read up on Merlin's pants. I'm going to talk to Kingsely about tonight's meeting" he said, getting up from the table.

Marlene frowned at him, watching him walk away. If she didn't know them any better, she would have said Sirius was hiding something.

.

Safiya looked up as Marlene stomped in. The latter dumped her books on the floor and pulled her robes above her head. She sighed in frustration and jumped onto her bed. The antique four poster creaked as it struggled to support her weight, and for a second Safiya thought it would collapse on the floor.

"I hate him!" she exclaimed and Rebekah rolled her eyes

"Who?" she asked, fiddling with her quill

"I –I don't know" she confessed, "Black, Potter and Lupin aren't telling me something." she clarified

"Should they?" asked Safina absentmindedly, " _Accio dictionary_ " she murmured and the Runes dictionary zoomed across the room to her outstretched palm

"It's about the Quidditch team. They know who the Captain is, but they won't tell me. I thought it might be Kingsley, but now I'm not sure"

Marlene sat upright on her bed and started to unzip her skirt as she continued talking to Rebekah.

"But if it's not Kingsley then who?" she grappled with her hair and kicked the bed post in annoyance

Safiya looked over to where Marlene was tying her hair up. She sighed and closed her Ancient Runes book. She would never be able to get any work done with Marlene riled up about her Quidditch. Honestly, she sometimes wondered how Marlene had gotten through four years without being on the Quidditch team.

"Want to blow off some steam?" she asked her and Marlene shrugged. Safiya got up from the table and deftly braided her long hair.

"Come on' she called over her shoulder, picking up her and Marlene's brooms. Two Nimbus 1500s.

"Where are you going?" asked Lily as she entered the common room, her arms laden with parchment rolls and heavy books.

"It's the first day back, Lils. How do you have so much workload?"

"Oh, I'm working on a separate project for Slughorn"

"Slug Club still going strong"

"I hate that name"

_"Sluuug Club"_

Safiya yanked at Marlene's hand.

"Safiya's therapy time" grumbled Marlene. Lily raised her eyebrows

'Tell you later" said Safiya as they passed out the portrait hole.

Lily glanced around the common room and took up a seat near the fire, where the table was relatively less cluttered. She dumped her materials on the table and removed her shoes. She stretched and closed her eyes.

"She's going to kill me if she finds out"

Lily opened one eye and peered curiously around her chair. She could vaguely make out Sirius's silhouette in one of the chairs behind her. He was talking to James, and Lily could barely hear what he was saying. She strained to listen to the snippets that drifted towards her.

"She won't Sirius. No one will. It'll just come as a surprise"

"I wonder how she doesn't know yet. She's the only one on the team who doesn't know it yet"

'Sirius sighed and tugged at his robes

"She won't take it seriously" remarked James, almost as an afterthought

"Maybe I should take the badge to make my point" said Sirius dishearteningly

"Maybe you should" said James as he got up

"I don't know if I can do this" Sirius's voice was almost a whisper and Lily had to lean as much as she could without getting noticed, to hear it

"You can", said James firmly, "you'll be an amazing Captain. And you'll have me by your side"

"I know" Sirius smiled

James got up and walked out of the portrait hole, his broom in his hand. She turned back to where Sirius was sitting and met his eyes. He was smiling wryly

"How much did you hear?" he asked dryly

Lily swallowed and felt herself flush

"Some bits, not a lot though" she answered truthfully. She got up from her seat and walked over to him.

"Are you really Quidditch Captain?" she asked, curiosity over ridding over her disbelief that she was trying to be friendly to Sirius Black.

"Yeah" he replied hollowly

"Oh" she said, momentarily speechless

Sirius's lips curled into a small smile. He looked at Lily and wondered what she was trying to do, sitting across him.

"I did try to resign. But McGonagall wouldn't let me, she said Fabian and Gideon convinced her"

"What?" Lily asked, confusion and curiosity swirling inside her. Sirius sighed and his shoulders slumped. He rubbed his chin.

"Fabian and Gideon recommended me to Minny", he said, "Kingsley refused the offer of Captaincy and supported their idea of making me Captain"

Lily looked at him with thoughtful eyes

"Can I see your badge?" she asked suddenly

"Doubting my story?" asked Sirius

"Just wanted to see if it resembles mine" she grinned awkwardly and pointed at her prefect's badge

Sirius handed her the badge and saw her slender hands examining it. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly five. He picked up the broom and pocketed the badge that Lily returned.

"You're an amazing flyer. I think you'd just do fine as captain" Lily said slowly as she locked her green eyes with his dark ones.

Sirius looked at her and momentarily Lily thought he would sneer at her

"Thanks Lily" he said softly and walked out of the room.

Lily watched him go, stunned at her own actions and that he had called her by her first name. She smiled slightly.

"You're welcome Sirius"

.

Sirius walked out of the massive doors, towards the pitch. He could hear the yells and laughter of the team and grimaced. He pinned the badge onto his white shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, he hadn't bothered to change. Clutching his Nimbus, he came in view of the pitch. He saw Marlene trying to score with James keeping. Kingsley was playing with the golden snitch while MG experimentally swung at the buldger. Kingsley spotted him first and grinned. He whistled loudly and the rest of the team halted in what they were doing.

Sirius mentally composed himself. None of them except James should ever know how he felt about the Captaincy, about his insecurities – his weaknesses.

James expertly caught the snitch lurking near MG's ear and landed in front of him. Although he was laughing, Sirius could see the worry in his eyes. Sirius nodded slightly with his head and this time, James's laughter reached his hazel eyes.

"All hail Captain" MG grinned wolfishly at Sirius and threw the quaffle at him. Sirius caught it and grinned at the team.

"You know how much McGonagall loves me" he responded. He faced the team standing in front of him, looking expectantly.

"I'm going to be Captain of the team this year and no way in hell are we going to lose that Cup" he growled

"Hear hear!" said James

"We're going to have to practice at least twice every week, and I want everyone in shape for the season. No slacking, am I clear?" Sirius looked at them fixing his eyes on Marlene. Marlene was scowling at him. He stared back at her, daring her to challenge his authority. However, she bit her lip and said nothing.

"We'll be having tryouts for a beater and Keeper this weekend. I want the entire team at tryouts, just to gauge how the Keepers and beater work together. Once we have our new players, I have a new strategy I want to try out"

"What is it?" asked MG as they huddled toward the strategy board Sirius had set up in their changing rooms.

"It's an improvement of the play that Fabian and Gideon created" answered Sirius, "I worked a different strategy using the basics with Kingsley and James"

"Chasers take the arc, seeker at the third hoop across and beaters take the parallel stance"

"The arc is difficult for interaction" Marlene pointed out

"Try it"

Sirius placed everyone in position and motioned MG to pass the quaffle to James, who caught it deftly.

"We've got a month and half until the first match of the season against Slytherin. Vanity is still captain, and to her credit she has always put together a strong team"

Thirty minutes later he motioned them to head back to the castle.

"We've been thinking of the terms of the wager" Sirius started as he and James fell into a familiar pace back to the common room.

"Which is?"

"The wager starts from October to October in seventh year. You can only ask her out once each week, if you miss a week you cannot claim an additional day for another week. You must ask her out in front of no less than three other people and it cannot be a casual question - you need to ask her out having prepared where to take her out on a date. If you break any of the rules, we each get five additional days to add to our initial number of days. Th point is mate, you need to ask her out like you really mean it. She's bound to cave - you can't say no to someone over fifty times"

James stayed silent, mulling over the details of the wager.

"Who came up with the specifics?"

"Peter, can you believe it?" Sirius laughed

"That's a lot of terms" he said uncertainly, "but she seems to genuinely hate me so it does sound reasonable"

They had reached the Fat Lady.

"By the way mate," said James as he swung the portrait open, "congrats on your captaincy!"

The common room exploded as he entered, it was decorated as it usually was during victory parties with golden, yellow and red banners draped across the walls. Firewhisky and butterbeer crowded the table along with the massive amount of food. The entire house was there, singing the house anthem Fabian had made up last year. A massive banner reading 'Sirius Black, Quidditch captain. Lions for the Cup' hung from the ceilings.

Sirius grinned at everyone, as Remus and Peter pushed past the crowd towards him.

'Hope you like it' James whispered, his eyes twinkling

'And ladies and gentlemen,' Remus had enchanted his voice so that it echoed around the common room, 'may I present to you, the Gryffindor Quiddicth Captain for the year 1975 –  _the legendary Sirius Black_ '

There were whistles and cheering as Sirius grinned at them. James stood next to him, scanning the crowd for a familiar mane of red.

'A party on the third day of school?' asked a voice and he turned around to face that familiar red head. Lily looked up at him, half scowling and half smiling

'Don't act like you didn't help me, Evans' James said shortly

'Doing my duty as a prefect'

James snorted and Lily glowered at him

'Okay, then doing my duty as a friend' she said, shrugging her shoulders

'A friend? To whom? Remus?'

'No, to Black you dolt'

James paused, not sure if he heard her right

'Sirius?  _Sirius Black?_ ' he asked incredulously

'Yes, Potter' Lily sighed impatiently, 'if you'll excuse me, I need to get those second years off the firewhiskey'

James started at her, not believing what she had said, but before he could catch her by the arm, Peter dragged him away by the elbow to the centre of the room.

"I heard you accepted the wager" Remus remarked, handing him a bottle. James nodded at him and raised his bottle

"May the best number of rejections win" he said, swinging a large gulp from the bottle and feeling the liquid burn down his throat.


	3. Ten

"Remind me again, why are we stuck decorating the hall while the rest of the House is either asleep or down in the kitchens?" Lily sighed and looked over at Remus who was elevating huge pumpkins.

"Because I volunteered at the start of the year and spent the first two hours of tonight trying to figure out the spell that suspended them", she repeated wearily, "besides, most of the House is asleep. Only you and your friends would have been out of bed, breaking the rules" she frowned at him

"Why can't we just do this tomorrow?"

"It's Halloween tomorrow, Lily. I think the point of us hanging these pumpkins is to celebrate Halloween. Of course there is also the small detail of Larine murdering us in our beds."

Lily looked over at Remus and mimicked his movements, hoping for dear life that the pumpkin would hold. She was hungry and sleepy - her concentration had been slipping rapidly in the past few weeks and she was suddenly glad Remus was the other Gryffindor prefect. He had always been the quiet and smarter one, and Lily had often wondered why he continued to remain part of Potter's small clique. Increasingly however, she had caught a glimpse of the witty Remus, the twinkle in his eye when he laughed convincing her that maybe he did have something in common with his other three silly friends.

The pumpkin fell onto the ground, waking Lily from her thoughts and splattering both their robes with pumpkin pulp.

"Shit"

Remus started to laugh

"I thought you were supposed to be good at magic" he added in between chuckles and Lily joined him

"I am", she said, cleaning their robes with a flick of her wand, "top of the year" she added with flourish

"At least until this year" she added gloomily as an afterthought, "I'm terrible at Transfiguration"

"Is that why you're so tired?" Remus indicated to the mess on the floor

"I can't get the hang of vanishing charms and they're supposed to the bulk of what we're tested on during our OWLs "

"You could just ask James, you know"

Lily pursed her lips. As much as she disliked Potter, he did excel at Transfiguration. A fact he clearly knew and added to his ego.

"Asking help from Potter would be the last thing I do after you've found my body at the bottom of the Great Lake" she muttered

"And you've failed your Transfiguration OWLs " he mocked gently

"Don't defend him just because he's your friend!" she rolled her eyes at him

"I don't think James would ever need anyone to defend him"

"Why are you even friends with him? You could find people of better moral fibre worth your time"

Remus snorted

" _Moral fibre_?"

"Potter and occasionally Black seem to have no sense of morality. They do what they want, take what they want because their spoilt. Let's not even start on his urge to hex half the Hogwart's population because he was bored"

"You only see what they want you to" Remus said quietly as he contemplated their friendship, "they are arrogant and spoilt yes, but they are also loyal, understanding and trustworthy"

Lily snorted and managed to hand her pumpkin with success.

"That's the fastest you've hung a pumpkin, Evans"

Lily jumped and the pumpkin she had been levitating fell towards the floor

"Whoops. At this rate, you'll be running out of pumpkins even before Halloween" Potter flicked his wand upwards and the pumpkin remained stationary, as if hung by a string from the ceiling of the Great Hall. Lily scowled at him.

"Nice to know what you think of us, Evans" he winked at her as he took a seat on the Ravenclaw bench.

"What are you doing here?" asked Remus, hanging another pumpkin

"Oh just maliciously hexing people in their sleep because I can't control my desires to be arrogant" Potter grinned at her and she looked away

"Also, a trip to the kitchens. Would you like an eclair?" Peter added, showing them the packages

"You're out of bed, I'll have to dock points"

"Oh come off it Lily" Sirius took an eclair from Peter and joined Potter at the table. She could feel Potter's eyes flint between them both as Sirius called her by her first name - something Potter had never dared to in the last four years of knowing her.

"15 points"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders at her and licked his fingers.

"So, I heard you needed help with Transfiguration" Potter smirked at her, " _flower_ " he added hesitantly at the end. Lily was torn between annoyance and wanting to laugh at his horrendous effort to something she could only guess would end in asking her out.

"How long have you been here?" Remus asked wearily

"Long enough to count Lily drop five pumpkins" Sirius grinned. Lily groaned.

"This is the last pumpkin" she announced as she quickly cleaned the sad mess on the Ravenclaw table.

It was the first time that she was walking back to the common room with the four of them. Not yelling, hexing or scowling past them but walking in silence up the stairs as they chatted gaily in front of her. If she was being honest, she was tired. A little too tired to care what they were scheming and get annoyed at Potter throwing her looks that suspiciously looked like he was going to be sick.

"Goodnight" she muttered as they trudged up the stairwell to the boy's dorm. She sank into a cushion and pulled the books she had left on the table towards her. She rubbed her eyes and concentrated on a box of matches on the table, murmuring the spell under her breath. The box rattled and lay still. Lily cursed and got up.

"Why won't you vanish" she growled

"Because your wand movement is sloppy and its slow"

For the second time that evening, Potter's voice startled her.

"Look Potter, I don't have time for this." she waved her arm around to indicate his presence, "I'm tired and all I want to do is finish this"

"Your wand movement is sloppy and its slow"

"Fuck off" she snapped, "it's perfectly in pace"

"Fine, why don't you show me how to vanish the box" he said, crossing his arms and staring at her from the entrance of the boy's dormitory

Lily gritted her teeth and focused on the box. She could always count on his presence to feel like she was slapped awake. Half the box disappeared and Lily felt a twinge of victory, it was more progress than she had gotten all week. She heard Potter snort.

"Are you serious?" he chortled as he picked up half the box

"Don't you need to sleep?" she asked irritably

"Sorry" he muttered as he waved his wand, transforming the box into a live mice

" _Show off_ "

Nevertheless she would be lying if she didn't admit that she was impressed. Conjuring spells were incredibly advanced - she couldn't even manage a vanishing spell while Potter could perform nonverbal conjuring spells. She groaned, realising she was admittedly a little impressed by Potter.

"Lily, are you listening?"

"Oh yeah" she said hurriedly

"Why don't you try vanishing it?"

"But it's not inanimate"

"Are you saying you can't vanish it?" Potter flashed her a cheeky grin and she scowled him. How anyone put up with him was a wonder.

She crunched up her nose and lifted her wand. She almost yelped as she felt his hand on her.

"What are you doing Potter?" she asked horrified

"Trying to show you how to move your wand because you haven't been listening"

She froze as he slowly guided her hand through the movement, his hand warm against her skin. She felt her heart started to pound. It was a normal reaction, she thought, someone standing as close as Potter was would have anyway accelerated her pulse.

"Try it"

The mouse disappeared and Lily grinned wearily, rubbing the spot where he had touched her.

"Thanks" she said as she gathered up her books

"Evans" she turned to look at him, "would you want to go out with me next weekend?"

"Are you serious?" Lily found her voice as she hit his shoulder with her books, "why can't you just take no as an answer!" her voice rose and she lowered it hastily

"I just thought we were getting along because of…this" he gestured to the common room

"Just because you helped me with a spell does not mean you are entitled to a date with me" she hissed at him, "I don't want to go out with you because I don't like you Potter, even if you helped me with Transfiguration. If I could vanish people-"

"You can't"

"I know" she said shortly, "which is why a fuck you will have to suffice". She walked towards the girl's dorm and James mentally slapped himself. One, he thought wearily.

* * *

_"You wouldn't have to smell that Amortentia to know who your true love is, you could just do that over Butterbeer at-"_

_'Move, before I hex you"_

_Three._

* * *

Colours had started to decorate the grounds, leaves forming intricate circles as the wind spun them around in the grounds. Quidditch. It was the only thing the school seemed to talk about. Halloween came and went and the four presented a rather poor Halloween prank, caught up in the Cup fervour. Fall was slowly drawing to a close, forcing students to bring out their warmest mufflers and scarves as reinforcement against the frosty winds. Sirius insisted on practice every day and sat in the common room with James until dawn, drawing up strategies for the upcoming match. The annual rivalry had arrived and the other two houses - Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff took sides as the Great Hall filled with red and green.

"Lily!" exclaimed Marlene as she waved, Sirius landing hastily as he greeted her.

"Thanks for doing this Lily, did Marlene fill you in?"

Lily nodded

"Good. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled open"

Lily watched Black and Marlene take off and join the rest of the team as she found Safiya who had already secured seats in the warmest part of the stands. Her eyes skimmed over all the players - Frank Longbottom and Arminta Podmore were new additions to the team and she was curious to see them fly. She knew Frank was in their year but she had never really talked to him, apart from the occasional conversation between two fellow Gryffindors. She noticed Potter look at her and she waved at him cheekily, wanting to unnerve him. It seemed to have worked as he flew over to Black and she could see them arguing, Potter pointing fiercely in her direction. Finally, he gave up and flew away from Sirius to take his place next to MG. It had been twenty minutes when Sirius hollered for everyone to stop.

"That was the bloody worst I've ever seen any of you fly. MG you need to look and pass, don't just toss the quaffle around. Marlene start looking for the snitch, not at Kingsley swinging his bat. James mate, what's wrong with you? You haven't caught one sodding quaffle in the last fifteen minutes"

James muttered something

"She's going to be at the match" Sirius snapped, "since when were you impaired in her presence? Forever, yes I know but I don't give a damn"

He looked away from James and turned towards the keeper

"And Araminta, if you don't stop blocking those quaffles zooming through the hoops, I'm going to ask Frank to aim the bludger at you next"

He whistled and the team flew back to its positions. They started again and almost immediately Lily could see the impact of his talk. Potter had stopped looking at her and his eyes were focused on the hoops. She followed him closely, and noticed his complete control over his broom as he swerved and dove. His arms must be strong to manoeuvre so seamlessly, she thought absentmindedly.

"Are you concentrating?" Lily felt Safiya dig her elbow into her side

"Stop staring at him"

"At who?"

She could feel Safiya roll her eyes and coloured up slightly, switching her concentration to the entire team. She couldn't help it as her eyes occasionally drifted towards Potter and groaned internally. Physical attractiveness wasn't and shouldn't a priority for her, she reminded herself, hating and understanding herself, and hating herself more for understanding the relapses in concentration.

It was about five hours since they had started when Sirius finally whistled for them to stop. Lily could feel her hands frozen within her pockets and snuggled towards Safiya. They made their way towards the grounds where the team had already landed and changed, waiting for them.

"Common room" Potter said, surprising her because she had been about to suggest the same thing, unwilling to spend another minute out in the cold. His eyes darkened and Lily heard the sounds of laughter and jeers, realising the real reason behind the suggestion. She could see a group of Slytherins walking towards them, laughing about something one of them had said. They spied the team and booed.

"Fine team you've got there, Black", Rosier sneered, "Bellatrix told us what happened in the summer and I'm surprised your team still trusts you, the weak scum you are"

Sirius snarled but Potter put his hand on his shoulder and he kept walking.

"What's that pretty mudblood doing with you?" he added as the crowd laughed. Lily ignored them, shaking her head slightly as Frank turned around. They had almost reached the doors when she heard her name.

"Lily, Lily wait up!"

She turned and stepped back abruptly, coming face-to-face with Snape.

"Sev?" she asked, disbelief colouring her voice

"What are you doing with them?" she asked, replaying what Rosier had just called her. Snape mumbled something incoherent.

"You said you'd be at the library at six" he said accusingly as he cleared his throat

"Right" Lily bit her lip, she had completely forgotten about their scheduled study session

"Are you free now? We could start on that defence assignment" he asked hopefully

"Oh no, where do you think you're going?" Sirius joined them

"None of your concern, Black" Severus glowered before Lily could respond

"As much as I would love to hex your filthy hair to a shower Snivellus, I'd rather not upset my valuable advisor here" Sirius spat back

"Why would Lily ever help you? She hates you and Potter, and everything you stand for"

Lily was momentarily shocked to hear him, it wasn't the declaration of her hatred that shocked her though but the venom in Severus's voice as he regarded them. She knew they shared a mutual distaste for their group but never considered if Severus's feelings went beyond the distaste into the 'murderous' territory. Sirius shrugged and walked away, not before throwing Lily a scathing look.

"Well, I actually did agree to help them" she replied timidly, reminding herself to bring up the topic of Sirius with Sev on a later date. Sev looked at her, confused and shocked and she felt a twinge of guilt. This was her Sev after all, and it had been her mistake when she had forgotten their study together.

"I'll talk to you later? Sorry again, Sev" she patted his arm and walked away, jogging to catch up to the team.

"See you at the match, Snivellus" she heard Potter shout over his shoulder and she instinctively punched his shoulder

"Don't call him that" she growled ignoring his yelp of pain.

She climbed in through the portrait hole and meekly waited until everyone had found a comfortable seat.

"Are you going to say anything, Lily?"

"Er, right" she blushed lightly. James felt a goofy grin make its way onto his face at the sight of her cheeks turning pink and cleared his throat awkwardly. He missed the next minutes of her critique lost in thought. It had been two months since they had agreed on the wager and so far he had been rejected all five times, not counting the time he had asked her alone in the common room. That would make it six. Maybe he needed to put more thought into the act of asking her out.

"Any questions?"

James blinked. Lily had finished and stood in front of them, slightly breathless. James raised his hand instinctively.

"Yes, Potter?"

"Would you say I throw the quaffle well?" he asked her with a straight face

"Potter-" she said exasperatedly

"It's a serious question"

"Yes, but you could work on your aim when passing" she replied

"I'd be as good on dates, as I am on the quidditch field" he winked at her and she threw her hands up

"Why did I think you would have anything important to ask"

"I do have something important. Will you go out with me?"

"How many times do I need to say it? No!"

"You haven't even thought about it. You aren't giving me a fair chance"

"You don't make me want to give you a fair chance. I would rather date the entire Gryffindor team before you"

"Even Sirius?" he asked incredulously

"I'll sleep on that question"

"But Evans-" he got up

"Don't make me hex you before the match" she threatened as she climbed up to her dorm, not before hearing Frank laugh

"You like rejection, don't you James"

.

Marlene staggered downstairs to bump into people clad in gold, red and yellow. It seemed like almost everyone in the house was awake and in the common room, she was momentarily confused if the match had already been played and finished.

"What's going on?" she asked no one in particular

Peter had entered the common room in time to hear her and pushed his way towards her. He whispered something in her, and Marlene felt the colour drain from her face.

The door to their dormitory was wide open and Remus had an uneasy feeling that the entire common room was listening to the conversation. Sirius was pacing in the room while James tried to calm him.

"I hate them, the whole lot of them"

"Listen, Sirius"

"I'm going to strange his neck and ask him how our dear mother is"

"Sirius!"

"How dare they make him seeker. Does he even know how to fly? This is clearly a tactic to unsettle me before the match"

"And it seems to be working marvellously" Remus commented dryly, throwing a chocolate frog wrapper at Sirius

"Don't you start on me, Remus. You don't know-"

"What they do, how they worship the dark arts, what filthy cheating scumbags they are. Yeah, I think I've gotten the gist of that down"

"Look mate, I know you're upset but this is exactly what they wanted. We've got the best team in years and we've practiced so hard for this. Don't let it get to you" James added as he threw the Quidditch robes at Sirius

"Can both of you stop throwing things at me?"

"No" they answered in unison

"We need to get moving" Frank poked his head through the door, "and you might want a fair warning that there's a big crowd" he added in an undertone

"Thanks, Frank. Okay, get up Sirius", James pulled Sirius to his feet, "you'll need breakfast and I'm not taking no as an answer"

Sirius followed James down and paused, considering the silent crowd.

"Marlene" James whispered as they walked out of the portrait hole.

"What?" she whispered back, "I heard about the Slytherin seeker"

"You're a bloody good flier, but today you need to fly like you never have before. We're counting on you"

Marlene nodded, the blood in her ears rushing and feeling mostly like she had just signed her death sentence. Lily sprinted towards her, catching them before they got up from the Gryffindor table.

"You'll do great" she said, hugging her tightly

"Don't worry Mar, you're a natural" Safiya squeezed her hand but Marlene could see the worry in her eyes

"Come to wish us luck, Evans?" James said dryly

"I thought you didn't believe in luck?" she responded back, smiling slightly at his disgruntled expression

"The answer is a no" she added before he had a chance to open his mouth

"I was just going to say thanks" he told Remus who had been watching. Remus hummed and rolled his eyes before clapping him on his shoulder.

"Don't let him go mad"

"The Gryffindor Captain this year, Sirius Black, is as a big surprise. Black, if anything, is known more for his infamous pranks and detention records than his leadership. The favourite candidate after Fabian had been Kingsley who flies as beater on the team, but I say let's give Black a chance, although his team is up against a well seasoned team with Vanity as the captain."

Tyler McKinnon's voice boomed across the grounds, as the players rose on their brooms.

"Slytherin versus Gryffindor - it's the first and most awaited match of the season, folks. There are a few new faces on both sides. Gryffindor has Frank Longbottom as beater and Araminta Podmore as keeper this year while Regulus Black flies as seeker for Slytherin. It's bound to be interesting with both siblings on either sides of the pitch. And there goes the whistle! MG grabs hold of the quaffle and passes it to Potter. He dodges the bludger but loses the quaffle. It's Vanity now in possession. Nice catch by Rosier, now if only he could hope to catch as many OWLs this year aaand he scores - it's saved by Podmore!"

Lily held onto her scarf, jumping up and down. Remus bounced next to her, usually excited while Peter chewed on his scarf nervously.

"Will you relax?" Mary exclaimed and was instantly shushed by Safiya

"And Gryffindor scores! 30-10 to Gryffindor!"

"Frank is a pretty good flier" Lily heard someone behind her comment and turned around to lock eyes with the Ravenclaw prefect, Alice. They exchanged grins.

"140-120 to Gryffindor! This is surprisingly a close match. No word on the snitch as the two seekers desperately search for the tiny, golden ball. Wait, I think Adams has seen it. Yes she definitely has!"

Lily clutched at Remus, too nervous to do anything but gasp

"Adams is speeding towards the ground in pursuit of the snitch and Black follows her, on her tail"

Marlene dove on her Nimbus 1500, praying it wouldn't crash. She could hear Regulus behind her, speeding to catch up and watched the ground coming up to meet her. One…two..three. She pulled up swiftly and raced across the pitch, barely missing the bludger by Mulciber. She heard the whistle and paused, her eyes skimming the grounds. She knew Regulus would have been mildly injured and instead used the time to search for the snitch.

"Bloody hell, what was she thinking with a feint like that?" Safiya yelled

"With Sirius as captain and Regulus as seeker, I guess she's feeling the pressure"

The whistle sounded once again

"That was an impressive performance by both seekers. Although Adams did use the feint to her advantage, Black certainly proved himself to be worthy of being seeker as he managed to avoid completely crashing into the ground"

Marlene swore as she heard Taylor, her eyes scanning the pitch. She saw a faint glimmer of gold near the Ravenclaw stand and focused her eyes. It was there, the snitch. However, as she started to speed towards it, she realised that Regulus had noticed it at the same time as she had. She gritted her teeth and accelerated. The snitch, sensing their approach rose upwards, taunting them. Marlene cursed and rose upwards. She could feel the air whipping against her face and numbing her hands. She dove with Regulus close at her trail as she chased the snitch across the pitch. He was now level with her and Marlene desperately tried to increase her speed, she lowered her body and stretched out one arm. She felt the snitch brush past her fingers and she sped, she could hear nothing but the howling of the wind. Regulus reached out for the snitch and she swerved in front of him to prevent the catch. He swore at her and she grinned momentarily. She locked her legs tightly on her broom and took both hands off her broom, she could feel it quivering under her body and her nerves tingled with fear and adrenalin. She made a great swipe for the snitch and tried to regain balance on her broom. She felt Regulus fly past her and groaned, she knew she was going to crash, she was too close to the ground. She heard Tyler's voice booming across the pitch, the piercing sound of the whistle and felt the hard ground beneath her as she crashed. She landed on her back and the impact of the fall hit her. She tried to breathe but her lungs didn't seem to respond anymore.

"That was bloody mad" said MG as he landed next to her. He hit her on her back and Marlene gasped. He hit her hard again and Marlene felt the air return to her lungs. She kneeled over, coughing and gasping.

"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded

"The snitch has been caught!" announced Taylor

Marlene closed her eyes and felt disappointment pool in her stomach. She would probably have to resign after this - Sirius would never let her fly again.

"But who won? Both seekers crashed while attempting to catch the snitch and while one of them was successful as the match ended, there is no indication of who is is" and for the first time since Marlene could remember, she couldn't hear the audience. Marlene felt tears threatening to overwhelm her and raised her hands to rub her eyes to find that she had curled them into fists when beating her chest, trying to breathe after her fall. Marlene looked up to see Sirius fly towards her, holding the snitch in her gloved hands. Sirius looked at the snitch and then back at her, trying to process the information. They won. They won. They-

"And Gryffindor wins!" Taylor sounded bemused, "That was an amazing performance by both teams although Rosier I really think you need to start with those OWL preparations, don't want to follow Mulciber's path, mate. This places Gryffindor as top contenders for the Cup. Slytherin will next meet Ravenclaw after we're done plummeting Smith's team.

* * *

_"There's this new cafe that opened at Hogsmeade, what are you doing this weekend Evans?"_

_"No, Potter"_

_Ten._

* * *

The sounds of footsteps and giggling resounded in the empty corridor.

"Come on, Mary"

"Mary and Cadmus, who would've guess" stated Alice as she followed the couple with her eyes. Lily laughed and gathered her books.

"I said I'd meet Severus" she told Alice. Alice shrugged and gathered up her own books. They walked out of the empty class room where they had been studying arithmancy together.

"Beats me why you still hang out with him"

Lily frowned

"He is really nice and interesting if you get to know him"

"Do you even believe what you say?"

"Yes?" Lily replied, confused

"Whatever, Lily. I'll see you at dinner"

She watched Alice walk the other way and shifted the bag on her shoulder, wincing as the strap cut into her shoulders. The castle seemed eerily silent. Christmas was almost upon them and Lily looked forward going home for the winter break. She walked down the corridor slowly. They had agreed to meet at nine and it was only half past eight. She smiled slightly as she remembered when she had been the one to arrive an hour early one day but had still managed to find him in a corner, waiting for her. She pushed open the doors to the library and made her way through the stacks of books to their usual spot.

"Sev" she whispered

Severus Snape turned to look at her. His sallow face brightened immediately and he shifted to make space for her.

"I just died carrying all these books" she said as she deposited them on the table

Sev chuckled lightly. Lily looked at him and frowned for a moment.

"What is it?" he asked hurriedly,

"You never laugh"

"I do with you" he said, and it was true, the corners of his lips were slightly turned up

"Yes, but only with me" Lily looked troubled as she unscrolled the parchments

"That's because you"re special"

Lily looked at her best friend and smiled warmly

"So are you, Sev" she said, "I"d never pass in History of Magic without you" she added as an afterthought and laughed

"I don't see how you expect to pass when you drool in class" he answered back, dipping his quill in the bottle of ink

"Now that you've found the real reason behind why we're friends" she replied chirpily, "why did the rebellion of 1612 take place?"

Lily listened attentively as Snape launched into the history of the goblin rebellions. She pulled her hair back and dipping her quill into the ink bottle, started to write slowly.

"I can't believe Binnis is making us write a five feet long essay" Snape complained after two hours of working.

"Severus Snape complaining, whatever has the wizarding world come to?" Lily asked mockingly and yelped in surprise as Sev retaliated by nudging her in the stomach

"Snape?"

Lily and Severus both turned around to see a fourth year standing behind them.

"I'm supposed to give you this", he handed Sev a parchment scroll

Severus unrolled the piece of parchment. His brow furrowed as he read it. He looked up to meet Lily's curious eyes

"I have to go" he said quietly

"What does it say?" she asked him, gesturing at the parchment

"We have a house meeting" he muttered and shrugged his shoulders. He got up hastily and piled the books into his bag

"I'll meet you later, Lily" he said and rapidly walked towards the doors before Lily could ask him anything. Lily watched him go, bewilderment reflecting in her green eyes. She looked at the empty seat beside her and sighed. She slowly replaced her quill on the table and stretched her legs. She got up from the stiff wooden chairs that they had been sitting on and started to browse the shelves for more material, she wanted to finish all her assignments before she went back for the holidays. She spotted a particularly thick book, "Goblin Rebellions – a Bloody and Gruesome History", at the corner of one of the shelves and grimaced.

_"We've tried everything"_

Lily's hand halted mid-way from removing the book. She knew that voice.

"We haven't tried enough" Lily removed the dusty book gingerly and peered through the gap it had left. She could spot four boys sitting, huddled around a table. One of them had messy black hair and Lily winced visibly

"I've told you a million times, but you don't have to do this for me. It's my burden to bear"

The boy shifted in his seat and Lily caught a glimpse of her fellow Gryffindor prefect's face

"He's trying to let us out of the fun" Peter whispered

Black and Potter laughed while Remus scowled at them.

"We've learnt enough though" Peter said, "something has to work"

"Well, it's not" Remus retaliated

"We can't just give up" Black said in frustration, "we promised to help"

"Sirius, I don't really hold it against any of you" Remus said kindly

"I don't care, Remus. We gave you our word, do you need us to perform the unbreakable oath now?"

"We should go over those books again" said Potter

"They're in the restricted section" Remus looked rather worried, looking at his counterparts

"We could always summon them" said Peter simply. Potter gaped at him.

"That's a brilliant idea, Peter. You should have been sorted into Ravenclaw" he said. Peter went red and mumbled something incoherently

Lily leaned forward, her heart pounding a little fast. She wondered what they were talking about, suspicious the minute she had heard the restricted section. You simply did not summon books out of the restricted section. Was it something to do with the dark arts?

And although she wasn't the biggest fan of their flippant use of magic, she was fully aware of how vehemently they hated the dark arts.

"We'd all top our Transfiguration OWLs though" Potter grinned as he looked at them

"And Defence" added Peter

"Is there really no cure for it?" asked Sirius, sitting up straight. Lily saw Remus shake his head

"Not anything known of. Although, I've read that wolfsbane was supposed to reduce the intensity of the transformations"

Lily started behind the shelves. _Wolfsbane._  The word seemed familiar and yet she couldn"t exactly place where she had heard it before

"Sirius, did you cast the muffliato spell?" Peter asked suddenly

"No, why?"

"Because I thought I heard somebody"

"Shit" muttered Potter

Lily felt her pulse speed up dramatically and walked back to her seat quickly, on her tiptoes. She had just managed to place herself in the seat when Potter walked into her aisle. He stopped short when he saw her, evidently surprised

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion

"Studying", she snapped back, "if you've bothered to notice, the library is used for studying. And right now we are in the library"

Potter ignored her and sat in the seat next to her, filling in Severus's vacant seat

"History of Magic? Isn't this our holiday assignment?" he asked incredulously, "is this yours?" he held out a scroll. Lily took it from him and realised that it was Sev's.

"No, it's Sev's" she responded automatically and tucked it into her bag.

"You were here with Snivellus?" Potter asked quietly

"Don't call him that" she said heatedly

"Where did he run off to, leaving you alone?"

She shrugged at him, deciding not to grace the question with an answer

"Practicing the dark arts with his slimy friends most likely"

"Don't act like you aren't above it, talking about searching the restricted section openly"

Potter stopped and stared at her. She realised her mistake and swore quietly but before she could backpedal, Potter had straightened up and yanked her chair towards him

"What did you hear? he growled, "how much did you hear?"

"Nothing" she gasped

"Don't you lie to me, Lily Evans"

Lily could feel his breathe on her and struggled for air. He had held her against her own chair and her arms were pinned to her sides. She couldn't reach her wand.

"Only the part about accessing the restricted section"

Lily looked into his eyes and after a moment, Potter relented. He let her go and she slumped backwards, taking in deep gulps of air and massaging her wrists.

"I didn't expect this from you, Evans. I'd watch out for Snivellus's influence if I were you - spying, lying, cheating" he walked away without a backward glance, leaving Lily with her heart still racing wildly, her hands shaking as she dusted her robes.

Wolfsbane.  _Wolfsbane._  Where in Merlin's name had she heard it before?

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally published six chapters of a similar fic under the title 'something called magic' back in 2012 and never really got to updating it. I scrapped the original plot, kept some parts of it and rewrote the rest because I wasn't happy with it but also wanted to get back to writing jily - so if there are parts you recognise that's probably because you happened to read the old one.  
> Thanks for reading and I would love you forever if you left feedback :)


End file.
